OMGPOP CEO on post-acquisition challenges

When OMGPOP was acquired by Zynga for $180 million earlier this year, CEO Dan Porter no doubt knew some aspects of his job would change. For one, he is now a VP of mobile gaming and general manager at Zynga's New York offices. And according to a Business Insider report, the hardest part of that transition from running a company to being one part of a larger operation has been managing his employees' expectations. (The Business Insider report attributes some information to a Betabeat story which was not live on that site as of press time.)

"Before you sell, you're this triangle, and you're at the top, and you're looking down at all the people you work with," Porter said at a venture-capital-focused event in New York today. "And then you sell, and then you spend all this time looking up above you. The staff feels that too."

With Zynga's stock price taking a beating since the acquisition, Porter has also been focused on keeping his employees happy. He said he advocates for them and has tried to earn their loyalty and trust. Porter said that also involves "a lot of begging and pleading," as well as honesty. He has tried to make sure his employees understand exactly what their opportunities at Zynga are, going so far as to suggest jumping ship when an employee's individual situation at the social gaming publisher is particularly bleak.

Sign up for The Daily Update and get the best of GamesIndustry.biz in your inbox.